OrnotBitwise
Watermelon
I'm not the Tibetan Buddhist in the family so I won't attempt to explain in detail: I'd probably get it wrong. The prayer flags are much like prayer wheels in that they serve as a mechanism to carry one's prayers to the gods.I don't really know. It isn't my type of Buddhism... Much of their belief system is a mystery to me. Tibetan Buddhism is, well, odd.
Remember that Tibetan Buddhism incorporates a lot of aspects of the ancient Tibetan Bon tradition as well as Buddhism imported from India. It is, as you say, a bit different from other Buddhist traditions in some details. In the main, though, it's not that different. Most educated Tibetan Buddhists tend to see the animistic elements of their tradition as largely metaphorical, in my experience.The turning of prayer wheels is a meditative act. The hanging of prayer flags is to remind one of the Dharma. And so on.